The Montana Auto Museum is housed in the Old Montana Prison in Deer Lodge, Montana. The museum displays more than 150 automobiles. Shown below are some of the Brass Era—that is, automobiles prior to 1920—which are on display in the museum.
Benz:
Shown above is a replica of an 1886 Benz. This is generally considered to have been the first successful internal combustion engine motor vehicle.
Ford:
Shown above is a 1903 Ford Model A Runabout. It had a top speed of 30 miles per hour and sold for $850. According to the display:
“This car is the first factory production model, and it successfully launched Henry Ford and his company into the largest, most successful car company in the world for nearly 25 years. Like most early cars, parts were purchased from a variety of suppliers and assembled in an old warehouse.”
Shown above is a 1908 Ford Model S Runabout. This was the last for built with a right hand drive in the United States. It had a top speed of 40 miles per hour and sold for $700. The small seat in the back was sometimes called the methanic’s seat or, by some, the mother-in-law seat.
Shown above is a 1910 Ford Model T Runabout. It originally sold for $900.
Shown above is a 1914 Ford Model T Speedster.
Shown above is a 1917 Ford Model T. Center Door Sedan. According to the display:
“Many buyers avoided buying the Center Door model partly because of its high price tag. It was considered too dangerous during an accident doe to the plate glass window.”
Schacht:
Shown above is a 1907 Schacht. Schacht, a buggy builder, produced automobiles in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1904 until 1913. Over 9,000 automobile were produced and in 1913 the company was reorganized as the Schacht Motor Truck Company and continued producing trucks until the late thirties.
Hupmobile:
Shown above is a 1909 Hupmobile Model 20 Runabout. The Model 20 was produced until 1913. According to the display:
“The company’s philosophy was to build a car in the working man’s price range. That idea, along with a strong commitment to quality and workmanship, produced many years of dependable, tough and durable machines.”
Trumbull:
Shown above is a 1915 Trumbull. The Trumbull Motor Car Co. manufactured two different models—a roadster and a sedan—in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The car was advertised as “America’s first fully equipped light car.” About 2,000 Trumbulls were made between 1913 and 1915 and about 1,500 were exported to Europe and Australia. When the Lusitania was torpedoed by a German submarine, twenty Trumbulls went down with the ship. Isaac Trumbull was also on the ship.
The 1915 Trumbull had a top speed of 50 miles per hour and sold for $425.
Flanders:
Shown above is a 1912 Flanders Model 20 Runabout. Flanders Mfg. Co. was organized in 1910 by Walter Flanders, a former Ford production manager. By the end of 1912, Studebaker had taken over Flanders Mfg. Co. In 1913, Flanders organized the Flanders Motor Company and introduced the Flanders Six, but only a handful were ever produced.
Dodge Brothers:
Shown above is a 1916 Dodge Brothers Touring Car. John and Horace Dodge began producing cars in 1914 and by 1916 the Dodge Brothers was the fourth largest automobile manufacturer in the U.S. The brothers died in 1920 and in 1928 the company was purchased by Chrysler.
Cadillac:
Shown above is a 1913 Cadillac. Cadillac was originally organized as the Henry Ford Company, but the major stockholders canned Henry Ford and brought in Henry M. Leland to appraise the automobile plant and equipment so that they could sell it. In 1909, Cadillac was purchased by General Motors. In 1912, Cadillac introduced the first electric starter. The 1913 Cadillac sold for $1,975; 15,018 were produced.
Buick:
Shown above is a 1912 Buick Model 35 Four. David Dunbar Buick gave the world a white bathtub by developing a method of affixing porcelain to cast iron. In 1904 he tried to produce a car but quickly ran out of money. William Durant bought the company and in 1908 used Buick as the base for General Motors. By 1912, Durant has left General Motors to work with Louis Chevrolet in developing another car and Charles Nash was president of Buick.
Detroit Electric:
Shown above is a 1914 Detroit Electric Car. The Detroit Electric was manufactured by the Anderson Electric Car Company from 1907 to 1939. The company built about 13,000 cars. The car was advertised as getting 80 miles between battery charging and had a top speed of about 20 miles per hour. According to the display:
“It was as an urban vehicle, one for women drivers especially, that the Detroit enjoyed most of its success.”
Oakland:
Shown above is a 1917 Oakland Touring Convertible. It sold for $875.
Cole:
Shown above is a 1913 Cole Model 60. This is a 7-passenger touring car. It sold for $2,800.
Early Photographs: